Chapter 366: The Northern Inspection Concludes

Toward Zhao Kuangzan, Liu Chengyou poured out all the rare warmth and patience he had for interpersonal relations, not hesitating to stoop from his dignity. Before his accompanying officials and the generals of the inner and outer armies, he gave Zhao Kuangzan ample respect and favor.

Zhao Kuangzan stayed in Yongqing for a full three days. During those three days, Liu Chengyou maintained his warmth and courtesy toward him—open-hearted, sincere, and candid. Though they did not share a bed, he made every show of intimacy, sharing his own clothes and his own food.

Thus, after three days, Zhao Kuangzan departed satisfied. They had held a heart-to-heart talk about the situation in the north and the position of Youyan under the banner of the Great Han. From start to finish, Liu Chengyou upheld but one principle: to set his mind at ease and dispel his doubts. At one point, in the heat of the moment, Liu Chengyou even directly stated that the Zhao clan would guard Youyan for generations to come.

Though Zhao Kuangzan was not old—still under thirty—he had always possessed strategy and wisdom, bearing the bearing of a superior man. High in position, he rarely showed arrogance. Even so, under Liu Chengyou's unceasing assault of sugar-coated cannonballs, he could hardly avoid being dazzled and beguiled. The bystander is always clear-eyed, and deep within the game, faced with such a grand pie, even the Prince of Yan found it hard to restrain himself.

Of course, one cannot rule out that Zhao Kuangzan was enduring and playing along. After all, situated between Han and Liao, surviving in the cracks, Youyan's position was awkward no matter how one looked at it. On the Khitan side, there was no hope to be seen in the short term; only by leaning on the Great Han and serving as the Liu clan's northern lock and key could he ensure his survival.

The Great Han had always intended to rely on Youzhou, and it was precisely because he understood this that, amid hesitation and ambiguity, Zhao Kuangzan maintained a certain expectation toward the Son of Heaven and the court. It was this expectation that allowed him to stay in Yongqing with relative peace of mind, discussing with Liu Chengyou the future status of Youyan within the Great Han.

When he took his leave and headed north, Zhao Kuangzan's mood was exceptionally good; even the bitter winter wind could not blow away the relaxed smile at the corners of his handsome face. This audience at Yongqing had not disappointed him—if not a full load, then still a great harvest.

Not to mention the chicken soup Liu Chengyou had fed him—the flashy rewards and tempting promises—accompanying his carriage north were also a batch of imperial goods and money. Additionally, Liu Chengyou ordered a large quantity of grain, clothing, military equipment, and medicine transferred from the granaries of Yongqing and its surroundings... Since Zhao Kuangzan had taken charge of Youzhou, it had always been in a state of financial straits, its fiscal condition even worse than that of the Great Han court. No amount of heartfelt chicken soup could compare to these tangible benefits.

The granaries of Yongqing were emptied by more than half, and Ma Quanyi felt great pain over this. Perhaps influenced by Liu Chengyou, having grown used to hard times, Ma Quanyi had always been frugal since taking office in Yongqing, and had only just accumulated some money and grain—to have most of it carved away at once naturally displeased him.

To soothe his beloved general, Liu Chengyou allocated all three hundred war horses that Zhao Kuangzan had presented upon his southern audience to Ma Quanyi for military use.

Snowflakes began to drift from the sky—not heavy, still passable. Amid the mixed shouts and cries, carts large and small laden with supplies, escorted by garrison soldiers and conscripted laborers, slowly left the city, heading toward the Yan cavalry camp to the left of the city. After a handover, the great column turned north.

Half an hour earlier, Liu Chengyou had already given his final performance for Zhao Kuangzan, personally toasting him and seeing him off, parting with reluctant affection...

Standing atop the city wall, the north wind howling, his gaze piercing through the sparse snowflakes into the distance, there Zhao Kuangzan had already led his company forth, the great column returning slowly and steadily.

He had come with over a thousand riders; he returned with over a hundred more. As Youzhou had long suffered the calamities of war over the past two years, with much awaiting restoration and a shortage of officials everywhere, Liu Chengyou ordered Chancellor Li Tao to select a batch of prefectural officials from nearby to support the Yan lands.

Considering that Youzhou was very far from the Eastern Capital, with inconvenient travel back and forth, and to avoid a recurrence of the earlier "misunderstandings" toward the court caused by insufficient communication, Liu Chengyou also established a new post of Tongyan Envoy in Youzhou, dedicated to liaison between the court and Youzhou, and dispatched a batch of imperial army soldiers to serve as guards.

Faced with Liu Chengyou's overly kind arrangements, Zhao Kuangzan hesitated slightly but ultimately agreed. After all, it was only about a hundred men; he reckoned that on his own turf, they could not stir up any waves. Of course, the men Liu Chengyou sent were by no means of simple composition—the accompanying Commissioner of the Wude Office, Li Shaoyou, had been ordered to have a hand in the matter.

"Your Majesty has treated the Prince of Yan too generously. I fear he will grow arrogant from favor, becoming increasingly wanton, and sooner or later will no longer hold Your Majesty or the court in his eyes!" Zhao Yanjin stood to one side, subconsciously touching the corner of his eye, muttering under his breath.

Zhao Yanjin's words were not deliberately sowing discord, but the emotion in his tone was quite evident. Liu Chengyou turned his head and glanced at him upon hearing this. Zhao Yanjin's eye and cheek still bore traces of bruising, giving him a somewhat bedraggled air.

As an imperial guardsman of the Son of Heaven, serving in the palace guard, whoever could leave him battered was clearly no ordinary figure. But the matter was not complicated—it had happened just yesterday. Zhao Siwan, the beloved general of the Prince of Yan, Zhao Kuangzan, was amusing himself in Yongqing city with his subordinates, making wild boasts while throwing his weight around in the streets, riding his horse and injuring people, when he ran into Zhao Yanjin and his company of imperial guardsmen on patrol.

Zhao Yanjin led his men to stop him, but was ignored. A great argument broke out, and when they tried to seize him for questioning, it turned into a brawl, causing quite a commotion. Moreover, Zhao Yanjin lost the fight—he was struck in the face...

Though Zhao Yanjin had learned some martial arts from his father Zhao Hui, compared to the battle-hardened general Zhao Siwan, he was truly no match, and the result was humiliating. The matter was brought before Liu Chengyou, who was in the midst of being "sweet as lovers" with Zhao Kuangzan. Though furious inwardly, Liu Chengyou's reaction was very subdued.

Zhao Yanjin was fined half a year's salary, while Zhao Siwan was handed over to Zhao Kuangzan to deal with as he saw fit, with no further inquiry. And so, it was lightly set aside.

"Still holding a grudge?" Liu Chengyou's voice was steady, betraying no emotion.

Upon the question, he dared not look aside, subconsciously lowering his head and saying, "Your servant would not dare?"

"Then you do still hold a grudge!" Seeing this, Liu Chengyou's expression instead relaxed. He waved his hand, turned his head, and casually asked Murong Yanzhao, who was attending on the other side: "Brother Yanzhao, do you also think I have been too forbearing toward the Prince of Yan?"

Murong Yanzhao stood ramrod straight, full of heroic bearing. He raised a hand to stroke his neatly trimmed beard and replied calmly: "Youyan is of tremendous help to the Great Han's border defense. Your Majesty's policy of appeasing the Prince of Yan is sound—to make a fuss over such a small matter and sow doubt in his heart would truly be unnecessary! However, this general observes that the Yan generals are arrogant in their troops. Unconditional tolerance can indeed easily lead to their growing wanton and looking down on the court!"

Standing nearby, hearing Murong Yanzhao's words, Zhao Yanjin could not help but cast a grateful look toward him, feeling that he was speaking on his behalf.

Liu Chengyou sighed softly, exhaling a puff of white vapor: "Do I not know this? But forbearance must come first—do not let small matters ruin the grand scheme!"

In truth, the arrogance of the Yan troops also weighed on Liu Chengyou's mind with concern. Especially after a candlelit exchange with Surveillance Commissioner Gao Fang, his worries grew. From what Gao Fang said, those military landlords in the Yan army held no reverence whatsoever for the court, and Zhao Siwan was a representative figure among them.

The name Zhao Siwan—Liu Chengyou had an impression of it. In the early days of his succession, when Deputy Commissioner of Military Affairs Wang Jun led the army west to repel the Meng Shu invasion, Zhao Siwan had been assisting the then Military Governor of Yongxing, Zhao Kuangzan, and had clashed with Wang Jun. Later, when Zhao Kuangzan was ordered east to lodge in the Eastern Capital, Wang Jun had even memorialized Liu Chengyou, requesting that Zhao Siwan be executed.

At that time, Liu Chengyou was wholly focused on his plan for Youyan, with Zhao Kuangzan heading north to succeed the ailing former Prince of Yan, Zhao Yanshou. Naturally, he did not follow Wang Jun's request; instead, citing Zhao Siwan's desperate fighting that broke the Shu camp, he promoted him in military rank.

That was the first time Liu Chengyou had heard the name Zhao Siwan. But this time in Yongqing, having seen him with his own eyes and given it serious thought, Wang Jun's original request could not be dismissed as mere personal vendetta...

As for Zhao Siwan, Liu Chengyou had already secretly instructed Gao Fang: find an opportunity to eliminate him!

After meeting with Zhao Kuangzan, Liu Chengyou's northern inspection tour was nearly at its end. The next day, the imperial carriage traveled west to Hengzhou. That was his place of rise; the Battle of Luancheng, through sustained propaganda, still held its influence.

In Hengzhou, Liu Chengyou did not tarry long—only briefly instructing the defending Military Governor Zhang Yanwei, praising him, before heading south.

During this period, there was a small episode: Liu Chengyou sent word ahead, summoning the Northern Capital Defender and Prince of Taiyuan, Liu Chong, to meet at Hengzhou, but the imperial uncle declined on the pretext of leg trouble. To this, Liu Chengyou expressed "understanding," having Wang Qiwu write a letter of regards and bestowing tonic medicines...

In the depth of winter, braving the bitter cold, the imperial carriage returned south to the Eastern Capital. As before, the civil and military officials were not required to greet him. Upon returning to the Han palace, paying respects to the Empress Dowager and receiving his consorts, Liu Chengyou's "long-drawn-out" northern inspection tour was finally completely concluded.